I think the mamasheshe post with her backsplash with the colorful small tiles with the white subway tile back in October was an eye opener, certainly out of the box, to me, at least. I always tend to go so (too) conservative, and probably wouldn't do too much of the vivid colors, but a strip of that tile would look great in my kitchen. Wow, it's gorgeous!Thanks, mamasheshe!

Yes, air switch - had never seen them before and am so glad we did it.

At the beginning, I said, "It's a sink - who cares?" Then someone linked to the Kohler Stages 45" and I had a revelation, I did care! The Stages sink wasn't going to fit in my space, but I discovered that I actually did care a lot about my new sink. Before the Stages video I hadn't given any real thought to how I use a sink. Talk about a wake up call.

We have done two kitchens with GW already and are pondering our third (work related moves). We are also beginning our first real bathroom remodel (did a powder room in the last house). So we have gotten tons of great ideas and information here. Out of all of them I would say, the single best idea we have gotten from GW so far is:

IKEA cabinets.

They are a total steal. We used them in our second kitchen and were just thrilled with them.

I knew the style of everything I liked(two tone, inset cabinets) but didn't know the cabinet companies or where to find photos.
Thanks to the many people(especially boxer pups) who posted photos in older threads I found photos of Shiloh inset cabinets, and two-tone combinations in many different cabinet styles.
Also I used an unconventional color kitchen floor and the positive comments convinced me that I was able to pull it all together(olioboard is very useful).

So many great things I've learned here, although, sadly, haven't been able to implement in my own kitchen. I learned about soapstone here, and Plugmold, and air switch, and Tapmaster, and pull out garbage/recycling, and more that's not coming to mind right now. Two things I have been able to use in my kitchen are Never-MT (in the bathrooms, too) and the Magisso dishcloth holder.

The single most valuable thing I've learned here is that it's okay to ask questions, even dumb ones, and that most people will respond in a generous and helpful manner. My thanks to all of you---you know who you are.

Upgrading to 2 fridges for our family of 9 and installing 2 DWs. The DWs have been in for about 2 weeks now, and we are really appreciating the usefulness of them. I still haven't quite adjusted to the extravagance of it and I feel quite spoiled, though. : )

Oh, and that if you are using your cleanup sink for mostly loading the DW, it doesn't need to have a window over it. We installed our cleanup zone against a wall, and it's fine. I'm not missing the window like I thought I might.

Horizontal pulls on upper cabinets - never thought of it, but I'm going to do it!

The idea of zones as opposed to "work triangle". I turns out my new kitchen design is based on the concept, without me even being aware of it!

Mostly I've appreciated the thoughtful, generous feedback. I did not take all the suggestions I got, but having my layout questioned forced me to really think about why I had things the way I did.

Wait, even more than that, I've enjoyed the enthusiasm you folks have shared for my project! Not everyone in my house wants to talk about the kitchen on a daily basis, and this outlet for my obsession has made me easier to live with.

MNexlurker, I have no idea if it would work with your sink. i know I was worried when I saw the thick padding/insulation around my new SS sink, but it held very firmly. I don't know anything about Silgranit sinks, but I did try attaching it to a 2 cm sample of granite, and the magnet did hold it in place, but barely. I think hanging a damp dishcloth on it would pull it down. All I can suggest is getting two magnets and hold one on each side of the sink surface to see if they stick together and if so, how strongly.

All of these have made such an improvement that it's hard to say which is the best idea -- but no question that the sink-faucet combo is the most transformative. I'd read elsewhere that the sink is the most-used appliance in the kitchen, and confirmed it by observing our work motions. But seeing what was available, and hearing in detail GWers' experiences with their choices gave me the confidence to spend the money for what would really make a huge difference.

GWKF ideas that will be put into effect if/when we re-do the counter and cabinets along the cooking wall: